The 'fall' of box office king Nguyen Quang Dung

After more than 1 month of release, on March 1,Love the wrong best friendleft theaters with a very modest revenue of 21.5 billion VND. This is the lowest-grossing film in the 2025 Tet film season.

Director Nguyen Quang Dung/Diep The Vinh's work was left far behind by its two competitors. Up to now,The Guardian QuartetTran Thanh's net worth has reached over 332 billion VND,Billionaire KissThu Trang's film has a revenue of about 210 billion VND. What's more noteworthy is that both of these films still have screenings.

With the figure of 21.5 billion VND, the manufacturerLove the wrong best friendThe film is likely to suffer heavy losses because it is a large investment, with scenes spread across many locations across the country.

The failure ofLove the wrong best friendperhaps the biggest surprise of the last movie season. The movie brings together a cast of artists who are considered A-list in Vietnamese showbiz today.

First is director Nguyen Quang Dung. He is considered a "million dollar director". There was a time when he was truly considered the ruler of the Vietnamese box office with works such as:Kiss of Death, Rescue of Death, Brilliant Kisses, Beauty Scheme...Even in 2013, Nguyen Quang Dung owned 3/6 of the highest-grossing Vietnamese films of all time.

Nguyen Quang Dung's partner in the movieLove the wrong best friendis Diep The Vinh - a famous DOP (director of photography), who participated in the production of famous films such as:Tomorrow(2024),Godfather(2021),Blood Moon Party(2020).

The film also features Katy Nguyen - considered a "billionaire beauty" with many roles in films that have bombed at the Vietnamese box office in recent times.

Tran Thanh - one of the investors ofLove the wrong best friendonce shared that the film crew, consisting of all the faces that can be considered box office guarantees as above, is the biggest reason why he invested in it. Tran Thanh himself also tried his best to promote the film.Love the wrong best friend.

On the other hand,Love the wrong best friendis also considered a film in Nguyen Quang Dung's forte. The work is a remake of the filmFriend Zoneof Thailand. Previously, this director was called "the king of remake films". He made films such asI am your grandmother(remake from movie)Miss Grannyof Korea),May the year be glorious(remake of the original movie)Sunnyof Korea - revenue of 85 billion VND),Blood Moon Party(remade fromPerfect Strangersof Italy - earned 175 billion VND).

Nguyen Quang Dung's fall from horseLove the wrong best friendPerhaps the biggest surprise of the Vietnamese film market in recent times.

Responding to reporters, expert Nguyen Phong Viet pointed out the reason:"The original version of this movie is not really excellent, the movie is charming and interesting because of the appeal of the two main Thai actors.

When it comes to Love by Mistake, the story becomes too safe. Kaity and Tran Ngoc Vang's acting is not bad but not excellent enough to save the script that has no highlights.

Love by Mistake failed because it was bland, the film's plot was monotonous, lacking highlights in the eyes of the audience, making their emotions not anchored anywhere after leaving the theater.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phong Viet, the fall ofLove the wrong best friendis a sign that the filmmaking style that director Nguyen Quang Dung pursues is slowing down and is no longer very appealing in the eyes of the audience.

"Currently, there are many young directors who have achieved revenue of hundreds of billions of VND with films such as: Quy Cau, Ma Da, Den Am Hon, Nha Gia Tien... This shows that we have a new generation of directors who are very active and enthusiastic. In the next 5 years, they will make the Vietnamese film market very vibrant. With directors of the previous generation such as Nguyen Quang Dung and many others, if they do not change, they will inevitably be abandoned by this market," he said.Mr Nguyen Phong Viet said.